You have probably heard? about the prize purses? for the X-prize and the DARPA Grand Challenge, but did you know there is a million dollar prize for anyone who? solves? one of seven open mathematical problems? The Clay Mathematics Institute has set aside $7 million in prize money for solutions to these millenium problems. Perhaps the most famous of the problems is a proof of the Riemann Hypothesis, which has eluded the efforts of the best mathemeticians for over a century.

Finally, we are back from Germany, in our new house, and returned from our final out-of-town wedding for a long time. Finally, we have an internet connection again. Finally, I have a chance to take a break and post all our pictures from our trips.

Germany was amazing! Thanks Mom and Dad for such an awesome experience! My favorite part was the US-Italy game, which was the best sporting event I have ever been to. We were on our feet the entire game, surrounded by fellow passionate US soccer fans who never stopped chanting. The US looked best in this game, playing just as well as the eventual World Cup champion Italians to finish in a 1-1 tie. The crowd booed the Italians as they kept flopping and rolling and clutching their ankles at the slightest foul. At one point after an Italian had been temporarily carried off on a stretcher (only to return a couple minutes later) and was laying on the sideline, Kasey Keller made a bad punt ;-)? that nearly hit the sidelined Italian player. The crowd responded with chants of “Kasey Keller.” After the Italy game, the US-Ghana game was somewhat dissapointing. We did not play well at all and ended up losing on a bogus penalty and a mistake/injury of veteran Claudio Reyna. Through the tournament? I was? very disspointed in Donovan’s and Beasley’s performances. They get single homers…

Dempsey and Bocanegra played the best aside from Kasey Keller, who is still at the top of his game at 36 years of age. They all get five homers from me!

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Here are pictures of the games and all our travels.

As soon as we got back from Germany, Lacey and I worked long hours packing and moving all of our too many possesions to our house. We also finished painting the kitchen and guest bedroom. Hotel del Mitch and Lacey is now open for business and we would love for anyone to come visit us. We also got our air conditioner repaired–good thing for home warranties.

After all of that, we left last Thursday to drive to Loveland, Colorado via Amarillo for Lisa Lauterbach’s wedding. We had to watch a replay of the World Cup since we were on the road when it was on. It was a pretty good game but I wish France had won instead of Italy. For those of you still wondering what exactly Materazzi said to provoke Zidane, there is a good story here. By the way Zidane was recently fined by FIFA about? $6,000 and Materrazi was fined $4,000. Somehow I think they can probably afford this…

–Mitch